Thursday, October 17, 2013

THE VAN BUREN COUNTY SHERIFF’S RESERVE ARE TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS October 26, 2013 AT THE CANTRIL VILLAGE HALL

On October 26th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Van Buren County
Sheriff’s Reserve, Van Buren County SAFE Coalition and the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill
abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired,
unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.Bring your medications for disposal to the Cantril Village Hall, W North Street,
Cantril.The service is free and anonymous, no paperwork, no
logs, no questions asked.

This
initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.Medicines that languish in home cabinets are
highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug
abuse in the U.S.
are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses
due to these drugs.Studies show that a
majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends,
including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now
advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing
them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety
and health hazards.

Four days
after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal
Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate
user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them
to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.The Act also allows the Attorney General to
authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled
substances in certain instances.DEA is
drafting regulations to implement the Act.Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like
the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Reserve and the DEA will continue to hold
prescription drug take-back events every few months.

You do not
have to wait for a Drug Take Back event to dispose of your medication.Lee Pharmacy in Keosauqua accepts the return
of prescription medications (excluding controlled substances) during their
regular hours at their pharmacy counter.

The
coalition is asking for your help in promoting the event, please let anyone who
may have unused medication know about this! If you would like to know more
about the Prescription Drug Take Back Day or Prescription Drug Abuse please
find additional details at the following link: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html
or contact the SAFE Coalition office at 319-293-6412.